His words were drowned out by an outburst of growls and snarls. It seemed that every werewolf in the pub was now agitated. My skin pricked at the sound. Fur was about to fly.
I cut a glance at the door. Kami and I could make it out, no problem. But I couldn’t leave Simon to deal with this alone. The Crown was a safe space for the Knights of Boudica and if we didn’t act now, we might lose it forever. Hell, the way these wolves were misbehaving, we might lose Simon.
Bones crunched and shreds of fabric dropped to the floor as wolves erupted from a dozen men. Two were manageable. Twelve hulking creatures were another story. Their jaws opened wide enough to swallow a pygmy goat whole. I thought of Herman back in my flat and shuddered. I really needed to not use my animal companions as measuring sticks for monster mouths.
Kami looked at me sideways. “Now what?”
At the very least we had to subdue them, but a dozen wolves with anger management issues would be no small feat.
I glanced at Simon, intending to get his approval. Magic was illegal without a license. Kami and I were licensed, but only in our capacity as knights, not as neighborhood vigilantes.
Simon’s body started to shake with such force that he fell off the counter. The stun gun clattered to the floor and Kami rushed forward to grab it.
I was torn between dealing with the crazed wolves and helping Simon who was now seizing on the floor. What was happening? There was no way he’d turn in his own pub.
His bulging muscles and contorted face said otherwise.
Donnie lunged at me, making my decision for me.
“Stun Simon!” I shouted.
Kami didn’t hesitate. She touched Simon with the end of the wand and zapped him.
I threw a punch at Donnie that had zero impact. The wolf’s paw shot forward and whacked me in the solar plexus. The air left my lungs and I doubled over. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Simon convulsing.
“Hey, the stun gun worked!” Kami yelled.
Dodging another blow from Donnie, I glanced over to see Simon back in human form. Unfortunately he was also unconscious.
Kami admired the stun gun. “We need one of these in the armory. Maybe even two.”
Minka would never approve them. They were what she would consider ‘superfluous.’
“You’ve still got a few furry friends to use it on,” I called.
We needed to bar the door and keep the frenzied wolves from escaping into the night. They’d terrorize the city if they got out in their current condition.
I retrieved a dagger from my boot and raced to the door. Pricking my palm, I used a few drops of blood to create a simple ward. I wasn’t excited by the prospect of being trapped in the pub right now, but there was no better option.
“Can you control any of them?” I asked Kami. Her primary magic was mind control, but it took a lot of effort and concentration. Weapons were her real specialty.
Kami focused. “Their minds are too…wild.” She shook her head. “Their thoughts are frenetic, like a bunch of bucking stallions. There are too many anyway. I can’t control a dozen minds at once.”
A werewolf jumped forward and slashed across her front with a set of sharp claws.
“Hey!” she objected. “Minka would kill me if I ruined my uniform.”
There were no marks on the uniform. One point for magical armor.
Donnie locked on me again and snarled.
Uh oh.
Too bad I couldn’t influence a werewolf’s mind. My ability to win over animals only extended to less complex brains. I’d have to stick to a good, old-fashioned beatdown.
I withdrew my axe from its sheath and used the blunt end to keep Donnie at bay. I had no interest in killing him or anyone else. I only wanted to prevent them from killing each other. From the puddles of blood on the floor, I wasn’t convinced I’d succeed.
I cut a quick glance at Kami just as a werewolf lunged at her. Her head jerked sideways and she fell to the floor. The werewolf trampled her on his way to fight another opponent.
“Kami!”
She lay still on the floor. Six werewolves stood between us.
Magic zinged through me, responding to my torrent of emotions. If they killed Kami, I’d never forgive myself.
My skin began to vibrate. That was new.
Donnie snapped his jaws and narrowly missed my wrist. The vibration turned into a tugging sensation. Ignoring the discomfort, I jumped backward out of Donnie’s reach.
Except somehow I was still there, fighting Donnie’s massive muzzle.
What the…?
I looked at my hands and feet. No, I was definitely here and…another me was now fighting Donnie.
Magic pulsed through me again and my skin tugged. I was accustomed to my magic straining to be unleashed, but this sensation had a different quality to it. There was no silver glow involved, the telltale sign of my species. It was as though a magical layer was being peeled away like the skin of a potato, except I had no control over it. The magic was separating from me…I was somehow separating from me.
If I weren’t so freaked out by the circumstances, I’d laugh at the idea of a myself as a magical potato.
Finally six versions of me fanned out in the pub and fought the werewolves that remained standing. A couple were unconscious like Simon.
Harry was dead.
I nearly tripped over him in an effort to take down Marco. I wasn’t sure the wolf ever joined the fray. Whatever caused him to twitch uncontrollably seemed to have overtaken his body and killed him.
Terrific. Now the incident would have to be reported. Nobody loved bureaucracy as much as vampires—and Minka.
With a little air magic and a few well-placed kicks, multiple versions of me managed to subdue the rest of the wolves without killing anyone. Once the final wolf fell, my magical selves seemed to sense they were no longer needed and dissipated. Magic sparked in the air as the remnants faded away. The original me grabbed the stun gun still on the floor and ran around the room zapping wolves with it until they returned to human form. Like Simon, they were unconscious.
I was so shocked by my newfound ability that I could barely speak when Kami finally opened her eyes.
“What the hell happened?” Rubbing the back of her head, she pulled herself to a seated position. Her gaze swept the room where werewolf bodies lay scattered. “Holy hellfire. Is that your handiwork?”
“Sort of.”
She lowered her voice. “Did you lose control of your magic?”
“Not in the way you think.”
I didn’t want to share what really happened. Not yet. I needed to do a little research first and understand it better. I’d always known I had untapped magical potential, but I usually kept a lid on it because of my fear of discovery. These magical versions of me…I had no control over their creation. I felt the way Harry looked when he examined his paws with confusion.
I pointed to Harry’s body. “And just to be clear, I’m not responsible for him.”
The werewolves stirred and one by one they regained consciousness.
Simon clambered to his feet. He surveyed the carnage and said, “Good grief.”